Blue White Illustrated

ohn Donovan isn't one for social media. On Twitter, in fact, @CoachJ_Donovan hasn't sent an original tweet since May. He barely reads it either. "I stay in my bubble here," Donovan says. "It's not going to help either way." For Penn State's second-year offen- sive coordinator, that is probably the healthiest approach. Log on to Twitter, Facebook or online message boards during or after a game, and the disdain cast Donovan's way is consistently con- voluted and predictably contradictory – run the ball more, pass the ball more; throw it deeper, throw it quicker; max protect, spread them out. In an age when anyone can speak their mind in a public forum, it seems as though every- body except for Donovan knows how to spark a fire under Penn State's offense. Speaking to area reporters on a con- ference call before the Ohio State game, Donovan was asked if all the criticism toward him from fans and media alike is fair. "I couldn't tell you, to be honest," he replied. "I know we're 5-1." Donovan's play calls and offensive philosophy aren't the only aspects of his job performance that have come under scrutiny. Following rare appear- ances – that mid-October teleconfer- ence is the only time he's spoken to media since the start of the season – reporters are often left wanting more. Juxtaposed against the colorful quotes that other coaches on the staff tend to offer, Donovan's answers can seem nondescript and lacking in specificity, but they're tinged with an obviousness that makes it clear he's doing it pur- posefully in order to avoid slighting one player in favor of another. It's like his offensive game plans and Twitter account. They might be considered conservative or lacking in creativity, but the moves are calculated. So while his response to the question about whether the critiques have been fair – I couldn't tell you. I know we're 5- 1 – might seem at first like a dodge, it says everything it needs to say and con- textualizes the situation that Penn State finds itself in. In year two of this coaching staff's tenure, it's all about collecting as many wins as it can. If the program continues to restore the needed game-day depth, then maybe someday soon the offense can start firing on all cylinders and take a greater amount of risks, and then the social mediaites can direct their vitriol elsewhere. For now, though, it's about playing toward the team's strengths and getting the W, and the W alone, even if it's not always fun to watch. Akin to the architectural ground rule that form must always follow function, Penn State's form might not be the prettiest right now, but the function is just fine. Sure, Penn State's productivity leaves a lot to be desired, as its offense is one of the least efficient in the Big Ten. Before the Ohio State game, the Nittany Lions were averaging only 25.2 points and 344.3 yards per game. On the other side of the football, however, they boast one of the best defenses in college football, one that on average surrendered fewer than three scores a game before the loss to the Buckeyes. For PSU's offense, the- oretically, those 25.2 points per game, while not ideal, have been a surplus in order to win more often than not. In other words, there's been just enough form in order to achieve the function. "You do whatever you have to do to win," Donovan said. "Obviously the flow of the game or the situations of a game can dictate what you're doing at times, but you're trying to do whatever you have to do to win the game." For five of the season's first six games, that's mostly how PSU operated. Call it conservative, keep the mistakes to a minimum and let the team's foundation of a strong D be the catalyst to victory. Winning, after all, is the No. 1 function for college football coaches. As long as that occurs, how they do it – the form – comes after. But that's not always the case for fans. "It's sports and it's entertainment," head coach James Franklin conceded re- cently, and therein lies the dilemma, and also the explanation as to why Donovan's offense creates the most heated conversations on the Internet each week. In the days of spread offenses and high-definition televisions, save for Saquon Barkley, Penn State's style of football right now isn't the type of eye candy that viewers at home or in the stadium seats prefer. They want deep passes and intuitive play calls. They want the home runs and fireworks. But that's not what Penn State wants, or at least not the risks associated. "If you look at our history, we've done a lot more things," Franklin said. "But right now, the most important thing is getting good at something." Heading into Columbus, Penn State had turned the ball over just four times this season – twice intercepted, twice fumbled – for the second-best margin JUDGMENT CALL TALK IS CHEAP Lions' OC tunes out the noise, focuses on fixes J

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